“We looked at trying to create a different sound on several of the songs on the album; we didn’t want to limit ourselves,” said Anthony LaRocca, 30, one of the group’s guitarists.

LaRocca and the group’s lead singer, Kimberly Capria, 24, met nearly three years ago and instantly developed strong ambitions to form a band of their own. “We played here and there, but we could never really find another guitarist who met our expectations,” LaRocca said.

However, that all changed last September.

The duo was jamming with another group of musicians in Maricopa with hopes of starting a band when they met 32-year-old Brett Dooley. “We have worked through several guitarists, but, when we found Brett, we knew we had our guy,” Capria said.

The trio quickly split from the larger group, named their band Alizarin, and within several months began to lay the groundwork for their first album.

“The first night we started writing, the notes and words flowed out like a turbulent river whose banks could not withstand the sudden surge of current,” Dooley said. “It was obvious the music we wrote would be shared with the world.”

Several months after that first meeting, the band released their first CD, featuring eight tracks of acoustic alternative rock designed to give the public a taste of their capabilities.

“We wanted to put on this first album a wide variety of music,” LaRocca said. From this collection of work, he added, the group has identified the styling behind the song Domination to be their future direction.

“We want to go heavier and more electric on our next album,” he said.

The group draws upon a wide array of musical influences ranging from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Megadeth. However, it is not just their musical tastes that are diverse.

Capria was born on the East Coast and moved to Arizona at age 10 with her family. The 24-year-old said she always had a love for singing, but just needed to find a way to come out of her shell. “I used to be very shy.”

That moment came in the 7th grade when she would witness a group of friends standing in a circle spinning freestyle rhymes, “I don’t know where I got the confidence from, but I decided to join in.” From that moment forward she has been sharing her voice with the world.

LaRocca has a different story. The Chicago native grew up in the music scène and was part of several bands before finally getting his big break several years ago.

“I was in a band, and our agent lived in Surprise; he asked us to move to Arizona so we could work on our music more and get a recording contact,” he said. However, shortly after moving, LaRocca said the members of the band realized they hated one another and broke apart.

“Most of the guys in the group had never lived on their own, and once we started living together things just fell apart,” he said. LaRocca remained in Arizona while the former members returned to Chicago.

Dooley grew up on the piano and served in the Armed Forces for several years before meeting his future band mates.

“I would look for groups here and there to jam with, but when I meet Kimberly and Anthony I knew we had something special,” he said.

Currently, the group is looking to get more involved in the local band scene, booking gigs at bars and clubs across the Valley. They have already recorded three songs for their follow-up album and are hoping to have the album wrapped up soon.

“We are looking to do some of the work on this CD in a Valley recording studio,” Dooley said. “We want the world to hear our music.”

For more information on the band or to download their album, visit www.alizarinmusic.com.

Check out an exclusive video of Alizarin playing live for InMaricopa.

Firing up Maricopa’s music scene
Local band creating brilliant harmony in short timeframe

A full-time employee and student by both day and night, one must wonder if Alizarin band member Brett Dooley ever sleeps.

The conundrum is furthered when finding Dooley, who formed the alternative rock group with fellow Maricopa residents Tony LaRocca and Kimberly Capria less than a year ago, came together with his bandmates to produce the group’s first album “Archaic Manifestations of the Unconscious,” in less than a month.
Much like how the music itself came together, so too, did the name – a can of paint in Dooley’s house with the deep red hue of Alizarin written upon it caught the collective eye of the group.

“The color it represents is a very emotional color,” Dooley said. “With some of the songs we have, it really represents that.”

Still holding auditions for a bassist and drummer to make their lives shows louder and deeper musically, Dooley said they are interested in recruiting others with a passion for creativity.

“The first album was a bit of a demo so there was a bit of a time crunch involved,” he said. “I don’t want anybody in the band that isn’t going to provide creative input. Otherwise, they’re just a cover musician.”

Each of the eight tracks on the new album are unique, with each of the trio contributing on creating new lyrics.

The album sees subdued, melodic riffs that highlight piano chords and guitar strings contributed by Dooley and LaRocca.

Dooley said many of their songs are written with the pieces for a larger orchestra in mind, with both he and LaRocca dabbling in other stringed instruments, such as the cello.

The album features guitar melodies that sound like something out of newer Dave Matthews Band works with a lead vocalist drawing similarities to a more upbeat Amy Lee (of Evanescence fame).

Capria got her start in music with marching band as a teenager, saying she was “always writing” new music growing up, while LaRocca had a more personal story to tell.

“When I was 7, my dad died… and my uncle gave me a guitar right after that,” he said. LaRocca said he found solace in music, playing in church bands growing up, always keeping alive the dream of playing in a big-time band.

Dooley played the role of mixer/producer, learning the craft on the fly to help create a professional sounding album.

While the album leans more toward an alternative collection with certain tracks that wouldn’t be out of place playing in a coffee shop, it does feature some edgier tracks, such as “Domination,” as perhaps a signal of where the band wants to take its second, more-involved album.

“We still consider this a rock album,” said Dooley, who said he spends every waking moment not dedicated to school or work on writing, recording and playing.

For now, they are playing as many local venues as possible – with a performance at Arena Sports Grill notched just last weekend – with the hope of eventually making it to larger stages in the Valley and beyond.

LaRocca said as much as playing the live shows and working on the second album, developing a bigger base of performers locally in something that resonates within him.

“Living in Maricopa there’s a lack of musicians. We wanted to have something there to say ‘this is what we’re capable of.’”

For more information about the band or to hear music from the new album, visit the group’s Web site at www.alizarinmusic.com